Efforts to increase knowledge and awareness of AIDS and STDs and increase the rate of condom use among female sex workers in Yunan, China have been extremely successful.

In an oral presentation yesterday, Dr. Zunyou Wu of the Yunan AIDS Centre said these results were achieved after repeated discussions with female sex workers, production of video and audio tapes, and distribution of educational materials and condoms in the towns of Chengjiang, Ruili and Longchuan.

Among 297 sex workers taking part in Wu's research, knowledge about the routes of HIV transmission increased from 18% to 98% in Chengjiang, from 44% to 80% in Ruili, and from 0% to 59% in Longchuan.

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Awareness that condoms reduce the risk of HIV/STD infection skyrocketed from 58% to 99% in Chengjiang, 55% to 91% in Ruili, and 55 to 90% in Longchuan. The result was that condom use by sex workers increased from 31% to 77% in Chengjiang, 51% to 75% in Ruili and 39 to 41% in Longchuan.

Wu explains that the Yunan AIDS Centre prefers to use health workers and establishment (brothel) owners to conduct awareness programmes because of the ''high mobility and low respectability'' of female sex workers. Female sex workers tend to migrate from town to town after stays of between two days to two months, and it is difficult to enlist them in peer education programmes.

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